[Postpartum] Hemorrhages Explained

Why and how often do postpartum hemorrhages happen? Are there risk factors? What can be done if they happen? Can they be prevented, and if so, how? Are fear and protocol making things worse? Maryn Green tells us more. Check it out!

What we talked about:

• What is postpartum hemorrhage (PPH)?
• Physiologically speaking, what happens during 3rd. stage of labor
• Should we look at the amount of blood, or the person losing the blood?
• Risk factors for PPH
• The universal recommendation for Pitocin after birth
• Understanding blood volume needs and changes for a healthy pregnancy and birth
• Know your salts
• The different protocols for when a hemorrhage is happening
• Preventing PPH
• The psychological aspects of a PPH

Additional resources and articles:

• Three Keys to Avoiding Postpartum Hemorrhage, from Midwifery Today
• Exposing the Postpartum Hemorrhage Deception, Taking Back Birth podcast episode from IndieBirth.com
• Pregnancy Nutrition Made Simple, Taking Back Birth podcast episode and transcript from IndieBirth.com
• Nutrition and Blood Volume Work Together for a Healthy Pregnancy, from drbrewerpregnancydiet.com
• Optimising psychophysiology in third stage of labour: theory applied to practice, by Caroline Hastie (abstract)
• Pregnancy Diet Myths vs. Realities, from NaturalBirthandBabyCare.com
• “The Birth of a Deva” birth video
• What is the Best Type of Natural Salt?, from WellnessMama
• Medical considerations, protocol, and treatment strategies:
  • Postpartum Hemorrhage, from Stanford Children’s Health
  • Prevention and Management of Postpartum Hemorrhage, from the American Family Physician
  • The AWHONN Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) Project
  • Quantification of Blood Loss: AWHONN Practice Brief Number 1
  • Guidelines for Oxytocin Administration after Birth: AWHONN Practice Brief Number 2
  • ACOG’s Obstetric Hemorrhage Risk Assessment Tables – during pregnancy
  • ACOG’s Obstetric Hemorrhage Risk Assessment Tables – during hospital admission, and labor

Related Birthful episodes:

• Nutrition during Pregnancy, with Amy V. Haas

About Maryn Green

Maryn Green has been in the birth world for over 13 years, and has been attending women as a midwife since 2009. Maryn is well known for her international association, the Indie Birth Association, which serves and educates women and midwives all over the world by creating community (check out the Wise Woman Circle), classes, skills workshops, webinars and consults. She has written numerous blog posts and recorded over 110 (and counting!) podcasts on Apple Podcasts (“Taking Back Birth”) that encourage women and midwives to rethink what they have been taught, and reconnect with ancient wisdom in combination with current research and knowledge. Maryn created and hosted her first international midwifery conference in 2016.  She is a graduate of the Ancient Art of Midwifery School, has taught for the Birth Institute as a holistic midwifery instructor and has taught globally for the Gold Midwifery Conference, Inherent Birth Conference as well as locally; inspiring midwives and students through workshops and the Wise Woman tradition. With Margo, Maryn has co-founded the first Indie Birth Midwifery School in 2017 which enrolled the first class of women around the world in completing the 2 year, online program. Her motto: The woman is always the center of her spiral! Most passionate about physiological birth and the fate of future generations, Maryn has been taught by witnessing hundreds of undisturbed births, the best of which have been the births of her own 9 children. When not learning or teaching, Maryn enjoys spending time in the Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona, hiking with her husband, kids and dogs.

To learn more, visit indiebirth.com and indiebirthmidwiferyschool.com. Click to learn more about Maryn’s “After Birth: A study course on postpartum hemorrhage”.

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).